World Cup 2018

by Stuart Stromin / July 7th, 2019

On a green chessboard
acrobats glide
leap and soar,
twenty-two athletes juggling a single round ball
while the planet holds its breath

All war
all politics
reduced to a contest of champions
on a stadium battlefield
elevated to perfection by
young human giants
at the peak of achievement

For a moment
the music of the ballet
like the tranquility of a running stream
drowning out
the yammering, ranting spew
of the orange mouth
on the other channel.

Stuart Stromin is a South African-American writer and filmmaker, living in Los Angeles. He was educated at Rhodes University, South Africa, the Alliance Francaise de Paris, and UCLA. His work has appeared in Sheila-na-gig online, River River, Alterating Current, The Chaffin Journal, The Garfield Lake Review, Blood Puddles, etc. Read other articles by Stuart.

This article was posted on Sunday, July 7th, 2019 at 8:02am and is filed under Poetry.